All posts tagged: creativity

During the week, I had a really inspiring conversation with an experienced academic from San Francisco working in the Fashion Design area. Among the various matters we touched upon, an interesting perspective arose on how Fashion Design – and its successful execution – is constituted by two parts. So what is good fashion design? The string of thoughts started with talking about how fashion, as a creative expression like any other art form, is rooted in intuition. Of all the designers, I’ve worked with, and myself included, design almost always originated from a feeling, intuition or conviction of what a certain object should and could look like. I’ve always experienced it as a very natural and almost immediate sense of just having that intuition. It’s hard to put a finger on more precisely what it is, but another word to use would be talent – which is actually equally intangible. This is where you find the true value of creativity, the wauw factor which a piece or collection either has or hasn’t, and the the …

It’s almost June! That means summer, holiday, drinks, warm evenings, sun, a tan, the smell of sun lotion, soft breezes, colours, light clothes and an all-together different energy. Light Linen shirts and paglia shoes… Maybe.. Depending on where you are. Writing this, I’m in London, and today the weather is grey, grey, grey, and I had to borrow a warm sweater from my friend. But hey, we’ve already had some good days, and optimistic as I am, I’m hoping for more sunny days and an all-together ‘good summer’. Being born in Denmark, the topic of the ‘good summer’ is every year, well, pretty hot. And working in fashion; I’m all about a fashionable summer. The world is a great place of opportunities and possibilities, and never before has it been possible to make your dreams come true as easily as today. Alas, it’s still not easy, but at least more possible. This is of course great – thanks in particular to the Internet. It’s the same Internet that also allows us to constantly be updated …

The Importance of Creative Research in Fashion. All the steps in creating a fashion collection are important; the initial idea, the further development and research, the actual design process, and finishing everything into a nice product. On time, that is. And often with production causing a great deal of challenges. We have previously discussed Trends quite thoroughly, which is perhaps a kind of layer that’s added to the entire process – but especially also the initial part, when many important decisions are made. So what is this ‘Creative Fashion Research’, and why is it so extremely important? Why is it so hard to explain how to go about, when people don’t really grasp it, and why is it sometimes so hard to get inspired? FatBrides In my five years as a tutor, explaining ‘Research’, and how to do it, was by far the most difficult thing. “Use your inspiration and imagination”, “Find inspiring images and put them together in a new context” and of course the whole thing about “Primary and Secondary Research”. All these …

I will never stop to emphasize the importance of travelling (read more about that here) and seeing with your own eyes, how people translate culture and other influences into design, fashion, concept stores, shops, cafés, bars, restaurants and hotels – or with other words: everything life style. It’s in the cities that this happens, and the metropolises are like magnates to young people, creatives, and everyone else curious. I recently went to Cape Town, and below is a selection of my favourite Cape Town street style. Tribe coffee bar. Unfortunately travelling isn’t always possible, and it’s in this case that the Internet offers such a rich source of inspiration, as we’re allowed to see things through someone else’s eyes. It’s at the same time inspiring on both a personal and professional level, and if you work in fashion design, having new inputs are crucial to the design process. Another huge benefit is becoming aware of the type of consumer(s) that inhabit the city. When working in the global fashion industry, and today with social media …

So, last time we spoke together, you worked for Lanvin, and now you work for Givenchy! What happened? I applied at Givenchy some months ago, while I was still doing my internship at Lanvin. Unexpectedly, I got a call from the Human Resources Department of Givenchy on the 2nd of November, and we had an interview. Then it just went really quickly from there; on the following day, they called me again and confirmed my job as Design Assistant for the women’s Pre-Fall 2016 collection. I started on the 3rd of November! I was very happy, as Givenchy has always been one of my favourite brands, which I have always dreamt working for. What does your day look like? I start working at 9 am. At the moment, we’re working on the pre-fall 2016 collection that is launching now in December, and there’s always a lot to do. Each morning, my senior colleagues inform me about, what has to be done during the day, and we all have our own area of responsibility. It’s clearly …

The future has always been unknown, and considering how fast things happen today, it certainly still is. I have often been asked by young students on how to prepare for a future in fashion, if studying fashion was a good choice, and what city is the best for a fashion degree. Of course, I don’t hold the answer to any of these questions, but after 15 years in the industry, I start to have an idea about, what could potentially work. If studying Fashion is a strong choice? Well, I can only say that it may not be as good a guarantee as studying law, finance, IT or odontology, but I still believe that the strongest choice will always be studying, what you love. Always. If you do something, you don’t feel totally and utterly passionate about, you will always and only be mediocre at it – no matter how hard you work. And considering that you will perhaps have to do this for many, many years, doing something you love is a really good investment, …

Travelling and Fashion Design Inspiration ‘To travel is to live’, the famous writer Hans Christian Andersen once said. I’ve travelled quite a lot, and I agree. I’ve spoken to people, who have travelled quite a lot, and they agree too. In this, there’s actually nothing new, but I would like to emphasize just how important I think, it is, and why. Let’s start with why (from the back – just because it’s more fun). When you travel, what you think about will change. Getting out of your rhythm and everyday life will leave your short view perspective of day-to-day tasks at home, and this will leave free space in your mind to be allowed to fill up with something else – and more important matters. What are the things in life, you really want to do? Often we have but a few, but really strong dreams, we wish to pursue. Are you on the path of doing this, and are you feeling satisfied? This voice is important to listen to, and you hear it only …